1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a paint trays and, more particularly, to a paint tray with a lid for preventing paint from prematurely drying.
2. Prior Art
During extended painting of wall surfaces with a roller brush, the paint is commonly applied from a paint tray well known in the prior art. Typically the painter must expend a considerable amount of time in applying the paint over a number of shifts of several hours each. If the time between shifts is extended, such as overnight, the paint must be delicately poured back into the original can and then the brush and tray are thereafter washed so that the brush and paint do not become dry and therefore unusable. Such cleaning operations normally take a while, and for the typical homeowner involved in a number of household tasks, the repeated cleaning of the tray causes a time burden. The cleaning of the containers is simply inconvenient to carry out.
In addition to the time inconvenience, the user often gets paint upon his or her hands while cleaning the tray and roller. Moreover, the cleaned brush and roller become unusable until time for them to completely dry has elapsed. If the tray and roller is left without cleaning, the roller may become brittle or become accumulated with coagulated paint, making smooth application of subsequent paint layers both inconvenient and untidy.
Attempts have been made to address the above disadvantages but none to our knowledge has been sufficiently successful to go into widespread commercial use. For example, a number of proposals have been made involving a mating cover for a paint tray but many, and possibly a majority, of the proposed structures attempt to make provision to also contain the roller in the closed space formed by the tray and associated cover. Such a construction does however have inherent disadvantages in that all, or nearly all, paint trays include an inclined ramp near the rear thereof for the purpose of “rolling out” or distributing a fresh roller load of paint after dipping into the paint pool so that the paint is evenly distributed on the roller prior to application to a receiving surface.
The surface of the inclined ramp becomes coated with wet and sticky paint during use and hence if the brush handle is laid thereon preparatory to closing the cover on the tray, the handle becomes sticky and unusable thereby requiring cleaning prior to recommencing use. To overcome this drawback additional structure has been proposed to hold the handle away from the wet ramp. While such an arrangement may be functional, the resultant structure is impractical in that, by and large, the lid and/or tray, and particularly the lid, may not then be manufactured by the conventional thermoform process due to the structural complexity of the structure.
Accordingly, a need remains for a paint tray with lid in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a paint tray with a lid that is easy and convenient to use, prevents unsightly spills, preserves and conserves paint and results in considerable time savings. Such an apparatus eliminates the need for the tray to be cleaned after each painting session. The apparatus conveniently allows the paint roller to be stored overnight in the tray without the handle thereof coming in contact with the remaining paint in the tray. The lid also has an easy lift-off design that allows the tray to be used by young and old persons alike. Such a tray is especially appealing to commercial and do-it-yourself painters that are attempting a painting project that will require more than one day's worth of painting.